PAUL ABBOTT, the Secretary of Ukip York branch, asked how much York is spending on cycle facilities (Letters, October 28). His tone was critical.

I hope Paul is really asking how little we spend, and that he agrees we should be increasing spending on priority bus and cycling schemes, plus encouraging car sharing.

This will help residents move around freely in the face of a projected 70,000 future increase in our city’s population.

Most of the money York has spent on cycling in recent years has come from a succession of Whitehall grant schemes.

These include the annual Local Transport Plan settlement, Cycling City UK and the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

Other travel schemes, such as the separately grant-funded A59 Park & Ride, have had modest upgrades in cycling facilities bolted on.

These can be done far more cheaply if part of a bigger highway project. Major developers are also often asked to contribute towards sustainable travel to and from their sites.

The Government is being encouraged to increase national spend on cycling to a modest annual £10 per head of population.

This would enable local authorities to receive consistent ring-fenced funding for cycling promotion, rather than making competitive bids for a limited pot of national taxes.

Paul Hepworth, Press officer, CTC North Yorkshire, Windmill Rise, York.